GEL 1: Lecture 4: Plate Tectonics:

Convergent & Transform Boundaries (Ch. 4)

Oceanic vs. Continental lithosphere

Oceanic lithosphere is composed of rock that is denser than rock comprising continental
lithosphere. Remember that all seafloor is created volcanically along mid-ocean ridges
and is transported laterally by seafloor spreading. The underlying lithosphere beneath
the seafloor is also created by solidification of molten rock below the surface at mid-
ocean ridges. The rock comprising the oceanic lithosphere is full of iron and magnesium
that makes the rock dense, relative to continental rock.
- continental rock is formed by a variety of different processes that tend to incorporate
lighter elements into the rock such as potassium, sodium and aluminum. (remember that
almost all rocks are silicates – it’s the additional elements that determine the density
and other characteristics of the rock.)
- so ocean basins exist because denser oceanic lithosphere ‘sinks’ deeper into the
underlying asthenosphere, relative to continental lithosphere. Rock comprising
continental lithosphere is composed of lighter elements that give it a lower density than
oceanic lithosphere. Therefore, continental lithosphere ‘floats’ higher above the
underlying asthenosphere (analogous to a buoyant iceberg).

2) Convergent Plate Boundaries

Plate boundary where two plates converge to produce uplifted mountain belts.
- the primary force at convergent boundaries is compression – squeezing and ‘shortening’
caused by the motion of the two plates toward each other
- lithosphere is commonly destroyed along convergent margins by burial back into the
mantle
- plates composed of dense oceanic lithosphere can converge with plates composed of less
dense continental lithosphere or they can converge with other oceanic plates. Two
continental plates may converge as well.

A - Continental-oceanic convergence

Along convergent boundaries where a plate composed of oceanic lithosphere dives beneath
a continental part of a plate, lithospheric material is returned to the mantle. The
process where oceanic lithosphere descends down into the mantle is called subduction.
(e.g., Andes Mtns., Cascades, Japan).
- oceanic lithosphere is denser than continental lithosphere (as you learned above) and
thus subducts into the asthenosphere beneath the continental plate at rates of 10-15
cm/yr

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- water-saturated sediment of the seafloor is dragged down into the subduction zone
where it contributes to lowering the melting point of rock (more on this later)
- as the subducting slab reaches depths of about 100 to 150 km, temperatures are reached
that are capable of melting the crustal rock of the down-going plate as well as part of
the adjacent asthenosphere of the over-riding plate
- this buoyant molten rock (magma) rises in plumes toward the surface where most of it
solidifies beneath the surface and some of it violently erupts to build volcanoes
- the volcanoes align roughly parallel to the convergent margin, forming a linear belt called
a volcanic arc
- compression of the rocks on the continental plate causes them to deform and warp
upward into a high mountain chain. The linear belt of volcanoes pierces through the
deformed rocks and forms high peaks.
- along oceanic-continental convergent boundaries, the process of subduction creates a
deep oceanic trench that forms along the linear contact between the two plates (e.g.,
Peru-Chile trench, Japan trench, Indonesian trench)
- deep-ocean trenches are the topographic expression of a subduction zone

The north-south linear trend of the Cascade Range is related to subduction along the
coast where two small oceanic plates (Juan de Fuca and Gorda oceanic plates) subduct
beneath the less dense North American continental plate margin.
- produces volcanoes like Mt. Lassen, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier
- the rate of subduction along the Cascadia convergent zone is faster than the rate of
seafloor spreading along the Juan de Fuca and Gorda mid-ocean ridges – thus the ridges
slowly migrate toward the subduction zone, eventually to be consumed

Volcanism located along the “Ring of Fire” surrounding the Pacific Ocean is almost entirely
related to subduction zones
- examples of subduction-related volcanic mountain chains of the Ring of Fire: Andes
Mtns of S.Amer., Central American volcanoes, Cascades of the Pacific Northwest,
Alaskan volcanoes, then south along the western flank of the Pacific, including Japan
and the Philippines

Earthquakes, ranging in depth from near-surface to 670 km, are common along the contact
between the two converging plates as they grind against each other (earthquake activity
is commonly called ‘seismicity’)
- of all plate boundaries, subduction-zone earthquakes are commonly the largest in
magnitude
- the distribution of earthquakes along the subducting slab is called the Wadati-Benioff
zone

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- the locations of shallow to deep earthquakes and the position of the volcanic arc relative
to the deep-oceanic trench tell us the angle and orientation of subduction

B - Oceanic-oceanic convergence

Many deep-ocean trenches occur adjacent to linear chains of islands called volcanic island
arcs.
- examples include the Japanese islands, the Philippines, the Indonesian archipelago, the
Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and the Greater Antilles chain of the Caribbean
- island arcs are formed by convergence of two plates composed of oceanic lithosphere,
with the older, 'colder', denser plate subducting beneath the younger, 'warmer', less
dense plate
- island arc volcanism results when magmas generated along the subduction zone buoyantly
reach the overlying seafloor and erupt, with the underwater volcano eventually building
up above sea level as a volcanic island

C - Continental-continental convergence (aka Continental ‘collision’)

(p. 94, 368, 372-373)
A third type of convergent margin exists where continental plates converge with other
continental plates (e.g., Himalayas/Tibetan Plateau)
- in today's world, the Himalayas (India-Asia) are a prime example of a continent-continent
collision zone; in the ancient world, the Appalachians represent an old cont-cont
collision
- rocks along the cont-cont convergent margin are squeezed and lifted upward to heights
of 8+ km along the spine of the Himalayas
- since both plates along the convergent margin are composed of relatively low-density
continental rock, neither will subduct. (Because there is no subduction involved,
continent-continent convergent boundaries are called collision zones.) Currently the
Indian part of the plate is being pushed beneath the south Asian plate, but both plates
are jammed, permitting the accumulation of tremendous amounts of tectonic stress.
- very little volcanism occurs in relation to continent-continent collisions; most of the
hazards associated with cont-cont collisions are earthquakes and landslides
- high mountains like the Himalayas are created along continent-continent collision zones
by the detachment of thick slivers of rock (maybe a km thick) and stacking them like
shingles one atop the other. Compressional stresses squeeze the “thrust sheets”
together, layering them on top and against one another.
- uplift continues today: earthquakes are a fact of life along the entire convergent margin,
including most of Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, and the Himalayas and Tibetan
plateau of China

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Because of subduction, all ocean floor on the planet is less than about 200 m.y. old. Because
continental crust is too light to subduct, some continental crust has persisted at the
surface of the Earth for up to 4 billion years.

(Your book is a bit weak on oceanic-continental, oceanic-oceanic, and continental-continental

convergent margins – read Chapter 4 selectively, as well as the few pages in Chapter 11 – I can’t
emphasize enough to look at the images in the book and strategically read the sections that
correlate with the notes. This is what you are expected to do outside of class to fully
understand the material.)

3) Transform Plate Boundaries

A – Continental transform fault boundaries

Transform faults are a type of plate boundary where two plates slide horizontally past
each other along major fault surfaces cutting across continents
- lithosphere is neither created nor destroyed along these plate boundaries
- a fault is simply a planar fracture along which movement has occurred, offsetting massive
blocks of rock and surface features on opposite sides of the fault
- faults can move abruptly, causing earthquakes, or they may slip slowly
- the primary force at transform boundaries is shear – plates on either side of the fault
move in opposite directions, sliding past one another
- transform plate boundaries connect other types of plate boundaries at their ends,
‘transforming’ the divergent or convergent motion along the length of the fault

The San Andreas fault of California is a continental transform fault boundary separating
the North American plate (moving southeast) from the Pacific plate (moving northwest)
- the San Andreas transform fault connects a spreading ocean basin in the south (the Gulf
of California) with a convergent boundary in the north (the Cascades margin)
- other large continental transform fault boundaries occur in Turkey, the Middle East and New
Zealand
- major, significant earthquakes are commonly associated with transform plate margins,
but very little volcanism.

B – Oceanic transform faults

- mid-ocean ridges are segmented by fracture zones extending perpendicular to the ridge axis
- transform faults are the actively slipping part of a fracture zone between two ridge
segments and are capable of generating earthquakes
- fracture zones extend away from the ridge axes and are seismically inactive

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- fracture zones and transform faults form and evolve at the same time as mid-ocean ridges
and accommodate different seafloor spreading rates between mid-ocean ridge segments.
- transform faults can create near-vertical cliffs beneath the sea that are higher and steeper
than anything on land

If you don’t know where some of these geographic places are on a map, then it’s important
that you look them up. You need to understand the geography of a place before you can
understand its geology. I’ll expect you to know the tectonic significance of all of the
modern places that I use as examples of tectonic settings.